PGL BLOG 2017

If you would like any of the below photos and others, please feel free to bring in a memory stick (about 8 gig or more if poss) to me and I will happily put them on there for you.

PGL 2017 BLOG!!!

Monday 24 th April 2017

10.05 and we're off!!!

10.21 err.....M25!!

10.32 err....A21 and put some photos on!

11.37 10 miles away! And they're ultra excited and the weather is good!!

13.30 As hopefully you are aware, we arrived at about 11.50. After a hassle free (minor traffic) journey to PGL on a rather smart coach (that even had a toilet but no one needed!) * update... someone used it on the way back though!!!! We met our 'groupie', who's name is Tom, First we had our packed lunches on the field. Tom then gave all of us a quick introduction to himself and Health and Safety talk and then led us to our rooms where the children set about getting their rooms together and unpacking their belongings. It really wasn't long before each room resembled Cuxton tip in a hurricane then spun round in a washing machine on 1200 rpm!!! First activities are 'giant swing' with Shane and 'archery' at 2 o'clock. OMG! Some of their faces on the swing as they go are some of the best I've seen and as far as I'm aware everyone has been on it so can't wait to see the other videos and photos myself!! Everyone is loving it here!!

17.45 Dinner! If anyone has been to Wembley and heard the teams singing and cheering their teams out, multiply that by a thousand and that's what it's like in the dinner hall!! Maybe turning 50 has heightened my hearing sense! Quick chill out kicking the ball about in the hall till 'robot wars tonight and then hopefully a nice early night!!! Hahahahahahahahaha!

just to let you know, my blogs can be censored at anytime and subject to change or politically corrected without notice and any spelling mistakes rectified at a later date as I am mostly writing this on my phone during the day!

Tonights evening activity was 'robot wars' An activity where the 3 groups had to build themselves a robot outfit which they then had to race several races in the outfit they had made against each other in the hall. Bizarrely I dressed up as a 'dragon' to assist our 1 armed (Bad arm in a sling due to a fall last week!) groupie! It's not a fancy dress costume I had packed but one supplied by PGL!!

20.30 Back to the rooms and showered and ready for bed all thinking they'll be up chatting for the night but in reality all zonked out completely!!! Roll on tomorrow for a 07.00 alarm call for breakfast and mmmmmmm first fry up of the week and our first full days lineup of activities including canoeing, fencing, abseiling,Jacobs ladder and Aero Ball (capital A!!!) and they can't wait!! Night Night!

09.00 My group off to abseiling where we are met by Jack and Eben. Everyone is eager........until they get to the top!!! Some make it, some dont!! It is around 40 foot high!! The other groups are fencing and canoeing. Pics later

10.30 My group are now fencing with Ben. They're like the 10 musketeers, Puss in Boots and Zorro rolled into 1!

12.00 Lunchtime!

14.00 My group are on 'Jacobs ladder' with Dave from Lincolnshire who also supports West Ham! Irons! And the other group with #magicben. Jacobs Ladder is, well, basically a giant 37 foot tall wooden log ladder! Where groups of 2 or 3 pull or climb....).or attempt to, (well difficult even for someone of my stature and build and significant knowledge and capability!) it's all about teamwork (ahem!!) and strength! Other 2 groups are on Aero Ball (capital A!)

16.00 After finishing Jacobs Ladder and deciding that Jacob should have just bought an aluminium ladder from B and Q (other hardware stores are available) instead of this wooden one, we moved on to Aero Ball (capital A) with Ashley and Taylor. This is basically a large trampoline divided into 4 sections surrounded by a net with 4 basketball hoops. The kids absolutely love this as do we because it really tires them out! Ho and ha!

17.35 Dinnerrime. And at last chips! Complete with heartburn and a larger than normal bloated belly! Afters was an Apple and Blueberry crumble with custard amongst other things and was delicious.

18.30 We walked back to the cabins to all get ready for 'Wacky Racers' minus Dick Darstadly and Mutley and the 'Ant Hill Mob' but was made up of 29 very excited children dressing up in 'wacky' clothes which ranged from the weird to the ridiculous but none the less very creative!! Where then we made our way to the big sports hall to play a plethora of wacky fun team games with Tom. Unfortunately I was also made to dress in another fancy dress costume which at first was a giraffe, but because I've eaten so much, didn't actually fit so I was forced to dress as a giant pregnant parrot!

Say no more!

21.00 back to the room for showers and prepare for tomorrow's activities and shenanigans!

Latest: 22.18 preparing latest photos for adding to today's album...........hold on a bit

00.02 Just added some new photos. I do apologise if I have omitted anyone, caught them off guard or with their eyes shut, bad light, shading, bad hair, funny pose, too far away, too close, not close enough, blurred, over exposed light, added any of me, Mrs Harrison, Mrs Smith, Mrs Williams, over compensated, under compensated, too many of one, not enough of another etc. To explain, the excellent choreographed studio looking professional shots are from my camera and group during the day mixed in with ones taken off the ipads airdropped when we get together and analysed and censored for almost instant presentation, bearing in mind wi-fi is very slow here and only really available in the sports hall and any other time tearing into my 4G data plan, with some others added in the middle of the night once I have completely downloaded all to my iPad and collated, cropped, red-eyed, and photoshopped as much as possible and added to the days folder. Just to let you know, all 27,327 photos (to date, Wednesday night) will hopefully be added to a disc and given to each child as a gift from the school sometime in 2019 when eventually completed including all the first class professional looking photos that I will hopefully be taking of the other 2 groups in the next couple of days as well as the ones taken previously and also including the ones taken on the 3 iPads. Roll on tomorrow!! Night

Wednesday 26th April

07.00 wake up!!!!

07.40 Another fried breakfast

09.00 My group are canoeing with Georgia. The other groups are 'team games' and something else which I can't remember! Ahoy me hearties! Pics soon! The others were wall climbing!!! Just remembered!

12.17 In the hall playing jailbreak just before lunch! This afternoon we're raft building, tunnel trail and climbing. Raft building is basically....... building a raft! Out of big blue barrels, rope and scaffold tubes. The children have to work together to construct the rafts also learning some knots along the way and technical design. Then paddling them across the lake to test them! My group are doing this activity first thing in the morning (Thursday). Wall climbing is obviously similar to our wall in the tyre park....but 37 foot high! Several get to the very top. I'll let them tell you if they did or didn't!

Tunnel trail is a series of tunnels and tubes in basically a tellytubby hill where they play various games and trials.

Our last days activities are.......'Trapeze', 'Zipwire', 'Raft building', 'Sensory Trail' and 'Abseiling' culminating with the disco in the evening. So more about all those with photos tomorrow......now it's 01.00 and I'm very very tired! Hope your enjoying the photos! There's loads more to load once I get back and collate them all properly!!

'Oh and it's a 06.45 alarm call for them all in the morning!! Haha!

The next paragraph was obviously earlier!!

21.15 Please be patient!!! Pics and blog coming soon! Just got to recover from 140 kids singing ging gang gooley round the campfire for the last hour and a half in my ear!

Tonights entertainment, as above, was singing and dancing and fun and games round the campfire, with several of the groupies. Finished off with toasted marshmallows. Great fun!

Thursday 27th April

06.45 Early wake up call with a ground frost! Most still asleep!!

07.35 Breakfast

08.00 Back to the cabins, quick knockabout and basketball while we get ready for this mornings activities

09.00 My group are raft building with groupie Rob! Pics to follow later but just to let you know, one fell in, the rest jumped in!! Tad disappointed they weren't soaked head to toe but hey ho!!! Anyway, back to the cabins for a warm shower!

10.30 Sensory trail with Cathryn for my group and the other 2 groups are zip wire and trapeze!

12.30 Lunch, warm baguettes with various fillings and crisps and salad and fruit.

14.00 My group are doing 'Trapeze' with Jack from Aylesbury. Think the others are doing Abseiling and Sensory trail!! Trapeze is a 30 foot high pole, that kinda looks like an old wooden telegraph pole with footholds up the side to climb up with! Then if you get to the top you 'jump' onto the 'trapeze rail'!

15.30 zip wire for group 3! The zip wire is about 200 feet long and the kids love it! Got some great slo-mo vids of my group which I'll post soon as I can! Jenna's is on there as a sample!!

19.30 Disco time. Well it obvious everyone has made the effort to dress up! Might have to go with them to see what's going on!! The disco is up in the top hall, myself and Mrs Harrison doing the first 'bouncer' shift! It was strange standing front side of the speakers with about 200 kids , dancing, running about playing 'it', eating their sweets, sitting in the corners, sitting against the walls, screaming, shouting but nothing stranger than watching Mrs Harrison dance!! I think that's what it was, maybe it was because it was a kids disco but if only I could have filmed in there, that would have made a special video to watch!!!!!

Friday 28th April

06.45 Was early morning alarm call and strip the beds etc, cases outside then off to breakfast which coincidently was another fry up for me at least! (Mushrooms were the best all week) so it was mushrooms on toast..........obviously with bacon, scrambled egg, tomato and hash brown and weirdly spaghetti in tom sauce which personally shouldn't be served for breakfast because it's not quite the same wiping up your plate with the bread at the end!

09.00 We all gathered around the Manor House and had our certificate session. This is where Tom and us 4 give out to the children certificates and telling them how well, not only how the behaved, which I would quickly like to add, was exemplary, but how well they all did in the activities,

conquering their fears, overcoming and beating their targets and such like. Several of them were adamant they wasn't going to do some, height issues etc but everyone of them did eventually give the said activity ago. Even if we did have to tape up their mouths, tie them up and launch them over the edge with a gentle but satisfying push!!

10.45 We then got on the coach and the rest is history!!

Saturday 27th April 2017

06.45 Woke up in my own bed, peace, birds singing outside, no banging doors, no knocking on the walls, no screaming kids, no footsteps on the walkway outside my door, no push button shower, no fry up, (back to slimming world!)and no alarm call and most of all no activities...........actually think I'll miss it! For a minute or 2!

Over the next couple of days I'll post some more photos to block up our website even more! Have a great weekend and still check back here for more updates!!!